The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed a Texas law requiring that doctors show sonograms to women seeking an abortion to be enforced. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEXAS_ABORTION_LAW?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
A lower court had prevented the law from being enforced but the 5th Circuit has now reveresed that ruling. The court, in an opinion by Judge Edith Jones, noted that states are permitted to require doctors to disclose truthful, nonmisleading and relevant information. As the AP story states:
“‘Relevant’ informed consent may entail not only the physical and psychological risks to the expectant mother facing this `difficult moral decision,’ but also the state’s legitimate interests in `protecting the potential life within her,'” Chief Judge Edith H. Jones wrote in the appeals’ decision.
Here is a link to the court’s opinion. http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/11/11-50814-CV0.wpd.pdf
Richard M.